Memories of Ice
by Sigi-san
Summary: Sequel to Tears of Rain: The fight with Neel has finally come to pass and Fairy Tail is recovering, but is the fight really over? Was Neel the real enemy? What will happen when the markings finally awakens? Will our heroes be in any conditions to defend themselves when the evil is spreading? Another dark cloud is coming Fairy Tail's way and the threat is bigger than ever!
1. The End of the Beginning

**_Hello everyone!_**

**_This is it, the sequel you've been waiting for! (Unless you're from the future and is coming directly from Tears of Rain, in that case, kudos to you!)_**

**_If you haven't read Tears of Rain, I recommend you do it, unless you want to be totally confused by this story. (You: What the hell happened to them? What the hell is going on now?! Who the hell is Leon?!)_**

**_Kids aside, thank you for your patience, persistence and perseverance, your courage and strength, your present and mind! (I think you get the point.) Just, Thank you for being here._**

**_I am stoked to be going further into this story with you guys and hopefully we both enjoy the ride. Well I don't think I wanna keep you any longer so go ahead and read now.. There's no more A/N, so just read.. Why are you still reading this, the story is below! Geez.._**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail with my own two hands, but maybe one day.. (MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!)**_

* * *

_Unknown location. Two days ago._

Deep sounds of footsteps rung between the walls of a rather dark hallway. Shoes connected with the iron grid, that made up the floor. Underneath, shadows and silhouettes of walking bodies resided. They had no real pattern, they were just walking around, not knowing where to go. Big pipes, in different sizes, was plastered to the walls, all going one way, and one way only.

The rather skinny man eyed the pipes now and again, still wondering what their purpose was. The aforementioned man continued his journey down the hall that was lit up, by a series of lamps that gave off red light and the little amount of moonlight they got in through the tiny windows to the left of him.

The man's appearance was another story. His green eyes flickered nervously around, while his grip on a stack of papers got even tighter as he went on. His, short, red hair was pushed back into a tiny ponytail, keeping it from getting in his eyes, which would have been almost impossible anyway, since the glasses he wore protected him from that. His white lap coat swung at his feet, as his steps was fast, yet uncertain.

Nearing his destination, his behavior became more and more nervous and he then quickly stopped for a minute, to catch his breath. A small scar revealed itself on his lifted right hand, showing signs of old battle and fights wounds. Having sighed a deep breath, he swallowed a gathering amount of saliva and continued down the red lit hallway.

Making it to a massive iron door at the end, he once again took a deep breath and knocked. The sound of his fist slamming against the entrance, made his ears ring in pain, as the noise was loud and greatly annoying. Next the man's tired voice sounded.

"Master Vandettos, I come with a status report."

Without the slightest sign of life on the other end, the two double doors slowly, and loudly, swung open, allowing the man entrance.

The room he entered wasn't much unlike the one he had come from. Much bigger of course, but it still kept it's creepy appearance. The same iron grid floor, the same pipe covered walls. An enormous aquarium was filling out the room, covering the entire north wall in front of the red haired man. A throne-like chair was placed in front of the huge water tank, it's back towards the fairly nervous man. A fitting little, most likely mahogany table was placed beside the chair, filling out it's purpose of carrying a red vine bottle and a half empty vine glass.

"Proceed."

The deep masculine voice made the red haired man flinch so much, he almost dropped the papers in his hands. Though he held steady, keeping a firm grip on them.

"Y-Yes sir, two weeks ago, subjects 101, 108, 109, 303 and 304 got sent out on a mission to brand. As you very well know yourself sir, their main targets was 01, 02, 03, 04 and 06." The man took a break, waiting for approval to continue.

"I seem to remember there were six targets." The deep voice said, in a rather curious manner. Of course, his statement seemed to both startle and anger the man.

"O-Of course sir, but we discovered that target 07 was no longer valid." He explained. That seemed to amuse the man in the throne-like chair even more.

"And why is that, Nerov?"

The man called Nerov flinched again, as his name rung throughout the room.

"Target 07 was not a mage, sir." Nerov stated in a sigh, as he kept staring at the papers. He wanted this over with as soon as possible.

Vandettos shifted in his chair, as he reached out to grab the vine glass. He held it in his hand for minutes, thinking things through, then he studied the content of the glass by swinging it around a bit, but then stopped and spoke.

"And what happened to this target 07?" The deep voice asked, making Nerov tighten his grip on the papers. The master knew all about his connection with target 07 and apparently found it funny to torture him with that question.

"Target 07 died, sir." The red haired man stated, rather quietly.

Vandettos chuckled a deep and rather amused laugh, as he continued to study his vine glass. "That's too bad, I know how much you-"

"With all do respect sir, I would rather refrain from talking about my past." Nerov cut him off, fear and anger waving in him.

Swallowing a fair amount of vine, the master spoke again. "Very well, proceed with the report." He did not sound happy.

Nerov busied himself with finding the right page and then cleared his throat, when he found it.

"Well, after a much delayed investigation, and I deeply apologize for that, we came to the conclusion that target 03 and 04 was successfully branded, sir." Nerov stated, his voice sounding with a resentment of such magnitude towards Vandettos, he could barely contain himself.

"How did that transpire?" Vandettos asked, set on picking out every little error he could find.

"Subject 101 branded target 04 all by himself, but failed to brand target 06 in the process. Subject 303 and 304 failed to brand target 03, therefore subject 201 and 202, who was in the area, stepped in and did it." Nerov finished reading from the paper and looked to the chair facing away from him.

"I see." He placed the vine glass back on the table. Never a good sign. "Where are the targets?"

"At their homes, sir." Nerov reported and still waited for questions or permission to leave. A small bean of sweat rolled down his cheek, as the room was incredibly hot, but the master liked the warmth.

"Any problems with the counsel?" Vandettos asked, his voice portraying a bit of curiosity.

"No sir." Nerov stated, "Subject 201 took care of it all."

"Very well, the failed subjects are disposable, I say lets-" Vandettos began, but was once again rudely cut off by Nerov.

"But sir, Subject 101 was.. He was.." Nerov dived deeper down into himself, as he knew he had made a mistake.

"Are you questioning my order?" Vandettos asked, mildly amused once again.

"N-No sir, but-" This time it was Nerov's turn to be cut off.

"I get it. Since you carry such strong _attachments _towards Subject 101, I will keep him alive, but he is to remain in his capsule at all time, understood?" Vandettos gave in, all interest having left his voice.

"O-Of course! Thank you sir!" Nerov was lifted and mildly happy for the master's 'kindness'.

"You can leave now." The deep voice rung again and startled Nerov out of his thoughts.

"Yes master." Nerov bowed and then turned on his feet, proceeding towards the door. He was glad that Subject 101 would live, even if it was in a capsule.

"Oh and, the other subjects." Nerov froze at the door, having reached out for the knob. "You know the procedure, get rid of them." Vandettos' voice rang with such finality, Nerov had no chance of stating his disagreement on the matter.

"As you wish, Master." Nerov continued out the door with a sour and disgusted look on his face, leaving Vandettos to his thoughts once again. Soon, screams of pain and agony sounded throughout the building and the man who had ordered their suffering, smiled as he took another sip of his vine glass.

* * *

_Magnolia. Present time._

Cana Alberona was a peculiar woman. Not only when speaking, but also in her actions and the two often contradicted one another. Having been a member of Fairy Tail since childhood, she still hadn't told anyone of her reason to join and it still remained her secret. With the sadness and guilt for not being able to trust her guild mates enough for her to spill that information, she spent her time drinking her sorrows away. This method usually worked for her, but when it didn't she became her old self. The one who didn't speak much. The one she was right now. Not having been able to drink for two weeks, had her on serious edge. And this was all the fault of Fairy Tail's master; Makarov.

Two weeks ago she, together with her fellow guild mates, had been practically kicked out on missions, with strict orders not to show oneself in the guild for two weeks. All do the the homecoming mages with serious issues and injuries.

Gajeel had come home with several broken rips in a very dangerous area, or so they were told by the 'doctor' Micheal, who had accompanied Levy home in a hospital bed. So the big teen were assigned to a months bed rest, which was very unpleasing to him. The little bluenette, to everyone's joy, was very much alive and funnily enough, _very _worried about the iron dragon slayer. Natsu and Lucy didn't seem to have any physical wounds, but their eyes were shadows of themselves, as Natsu carried the body of the cute red haired boy, who had been there to warn them only days before. Juvia's leg was incredibly worse off, but miraculously Micheal seemed to think, no drastic measures needed to be taken and assigned her bed rest as well. Carrying the unconscious Gray, was Erza, who seemed without any injuries as well.

This is where Makarov had told everyone, that the beaten and broken wizards needed rest and a noisy, mage packed guild was not a very good treatment plan. So practically everyone had been either sent home or out on missions.

The long two weeks had finally come to pass and Cana was now on her way home.

"Cana-chan! Haven't seen you in a while, where have you been?" It was the man from the pet store, his name believed to be Kent. Cana had known him all the way since she first stepped foot in this city. The much younger Cana had seemed lost on her way to Fairy Tail and had been invited in by a teenage boy, named Kent. Kent was a good friend of hers and had been since he showed her the tiny rabbits in the window stand of his - at that time his parent's - shop, all those years ago. They had now both grown up, Kent into a middle aged man and Cana into a young woman.

"Oh hey, yeah I've been out on a mission. Sorry for not coming to visit more often." Cana let her voice portray the guilt she was feeling and shifted on her feet. They were both standing on Magnolia's main street, where shop after shop laid spread out on both sides.

"How's it going with Fairy Tail? That festival last month sure did wonders on the city." Kent spoke about the whole battle of Fairy Tail ordeal, the truth about which had yet to be announced to the public.

"Uhm yeah, we're doing fine. Some of our guys got a little hurt lately, but no biggie." She laughed all the while her head screamed; 'I am such a liar!'.

"Oh well, say hi to Makarov for me." Kent smiled and went back to work, which included feeding a rather hysterical parrot, who seemed to have developed a strange hobby of snapping at the much confused Kent.

"Will do." She answered and went on her way. Hatuzu-san, the butcher's wife waved, while Mi-chan, the waitress from the breakfast cafe mumbled a quick greeting, as she rushed off to serve Jiji-kun, the son of the town's most famous fishermen. All these people being more or less, someone Cana knew. It felt great being back in familiar surroundings with familiar people. The brunette continued her merry way up the street, saying a hurried 'hello' to Kuna-san, Kent's wife, who was on her way back from the hairdresser and now had beautiful blonde curls brushing against her back.

The Fairy Tail building did all members proud. The huge castle-like construction had taken quite a lot of time to build, but all and one thought it worth it. Some mages, mostly Natsu, had complained about the differences from the prior guild building, but even the fire mage had to admit that the structure had it's perks. The giant iron gate stood it's position in front of Cana and blocked her way. She only had to push it open slightly to slip through and made sure to close it behind her. It usually resided open, but since it had been forbidden to set a foot in the place for two weeks, no one had really left the place either. The other guild members must have been slowly coming back from their trips by now, but when Cana entered the big guild hall, only a few had made their way back.

Mirajane stood at her usual place in the bar and smiled while cleaning a glass, looking awfully lot like a bartender. The thought of booze made Cana's stomach rumble in hunger, but lot the normal one. Her hunger for alcohol lit in her and she quickly power-walked to the counter.

"Welcome home Cana." Mira smiled and handed her a mug of beer, already knowing she would ask.

"Thanks." The brunette downed the mug in seconds and silently asked for a refill. "How have things been?"

Mirajane had been one of the few, who had been allowed to stay in those two weeks. She had therefore been charged with the assignment of cooking for the patients in the sickbay, a chore she found much enjoyable.

"Fine, I guess." Mira's smile faded slightly, but she still maintained her cheerful features, all the while filling Cana's mug to the brim and sent it back. Only one problem; Mirajane never guessed. She either knew or not, so the 'I guess' comment must have come from nervousness. What did she have to be nervous about?

"The others are fine, right?" Cana felt a small panic slowly rising in her of the thought of something happening.

"Don't worry, they're fine! Or mostly fine.." Mira's smile had completely vanished and her eyes showed deep worry. She fumbled a bit with her white hair, hesitant to speak.

"Well?" Cana urged her on, not minding the guilt for pressuring her.

"Well, Natsu and Lucy spend all their time in the cemetery, god knows what they're doing all day." Mira sighed and eyed the empty mug Cana had placed in front of her. She quickly began refilling it.

Cana shifted in her chair, unsure of what to say. Natsu and Lucy was clearly still upset about the Leon boy and now spent all their time visiting him in the graveyard. Lisanna's grave being nearby probably wasn't helping in Natsu's case.

"It must be because of that kid who died." Cana voiced her thoughts, to which Mira nodded.

"Gray hasn't even woken up yet and Juvia is so worried about him, she isn't getting any sleep." Her eyes traveled to the door of the sickbay and she sighed. "She's refusing to eat as well, but on the bright side her leg is nearly healed." Gray not having awoken was bad. What could have happened to him, to make him go into such a deep sleep?

Cana couldn't comfort her, as she still didn't know what do say, so she settled with asking more questions.

"It's bad huh? How's Levy doing?"

"She's much better now." She smiled, finally finding some good news to report. "That doctor Michael sure knows his stuff, he did get beaten with a broomstick when Porlyusica stopped by though." Mira laughed quietly. "That woman is an amazing healer."

Cana agreed to that. After all, it had been Porlyusica who helped Master Makarov when he had a stroke and brought him back, good as new.

"Gajeel still needs lots of rest," Mira continued. "But he has Levy as company, so I don't think he minds that much." She smiled knowingly again.

"I can imagine." Cana smiled with her. "Then what about Erza?"

Mira's smile faded slightly once again, but she remained her positive self. "She's not really hurt, but she has been spending a lot of time alone." Mira said, refilling Cana's glass a fourth time.

As on cue, the aforementioned scarlet haired woman suddenly stepped through the massive wooden doors and walked as fast as Cana had, towards the counter. She came to an abrupt stop in front of Mirajane and cleared her throat. She then lifted her hand and gathered her red hair into a long ponytail, a look you wouldn't see her with often. Her shiny armor almost fumed with heat and Cana quickly wondered how Erza was alive.

"Mira, you think you could fetch me a glass of water?" She asked, ignoring both Mira's greeting and Cana completely.

"Of course." Mira said and busied herself with the tap.

Erza was sweating, like she had either been running for miles or training heavily, both of which she could do simultaneously.

"Productive day?" Cana asked, slightly amused by Erza's fatigue.

The red head shot her a quick glare, but answered in a somewhat calm voice. "Yeah."

"Here you go." Mira said, and handed Erza a glass of water. "Sorry if it's not cold, I usually ask Gray if he could cool down our water supply in the tanker below when necessary, but given the circumstances.." She trailed off.

Catching the meaning Erza nodded and downed the water in one go, placed the empty glass on the counter and sighed.

"Mind of I go in there? I wanna check on Gray." She then asked and eyed the door to the sickbay.

"Not at all." Mira smiled sadly.

"Can I go with her? I wanna say hi to everybody." Cana asked Mira, but looked at Erza who had already started her journey towards the room.

"Go ahead."

At the permission, Cana left her half empty mug and followed Erza.

The sickbay was a sad excuse for a room. Everybody visible had this gloomy expression on their face and Cana was pretty sure her own face was showing depression as well. Erza had already made a left turn towards an area hidden behind white curtains further down the room. Deciding to visit Levy and Gajeel first, Cana made a right turn in the other direction.

Coming to an equally hidden area, Cana shoved the white curtains out of the way, revealing a sleeping Gajeel on the other side. The brunette eyed him for a minute, until a small voice interrupted her.

"Cana-san?"

Cana's eyes met with Levy, who was laying in the bed next to Gajeel's with a surprised look on her face. She then visibly relaxed and her eyes turned welcoming.

Shooting Gajeel a quick glance, Cana proceeded to Levy's bed with a smile playing on her lips.

"Hey Levy, how are you doing?" The brunette took a hold of the end railing of the smaller teen's bed and watched her trying to sit up. Cana didn't miss the flinch of pain washing over Levy's features for a slight second, but decided not to comment on it.

"I'm okay." Levy said shortly, settling into a sitting position.

"Okay." Cana finished quite awkward, her body screaming for alcohol yet again. "How's Gajeel?"

On cue Gajeel released a giant snore and tumbled over on his side, his back towards the girls. His long black hair was messy and laid loosely over his shoulder, creating a dark curtain over his face. His metal piercings shined now and again when the light hit them just right and a bit of sweat grazed his forehead. His black eyelashes vibrated, showing signs of being disturbed, but by the sudden silence of the two girls, he fell back into the abyss of sleep.

Levy chuckled lightly and ran her hand through her blue hair. "As you can see, he's fine. He did come down with a fever yesterday though, hence the sweating."

"I see." Cana dug her hand into the pockets of her jeans and sighed happily. "Well I'm just glad you're alright."

"We are, but I'm worried about Gray and Porlyusica-san won't let me out of bed to check on him." Levy sighed.

"I can check for you." Cana suggested and smiled when Levy's face lit up.

"That would be amazing Cana-san!" the bluenette said thankfully, but lowered her voice when Gajeel turned in his bed again. "Thank you." She whispered.

Cana nodded. "I'll come back later."

Carefully placing the curtain back, Cana sighed and made her way towards Gray's bed in the other end of the room. Erza was already there, her eyes portraying worry as she looked at the scene in front of her.

Gray was laying motionless in his bed, his face pale white. His black bangs brushed against his eyelids and covered his sweaty forehead. His right arm was hidden away under the covers, while his left was being held by a very distraught looking Juvia. The bluenette had entwined her hand in his, while she kept staring at his face. She looked awful. Her body was shaking, yet unclear if by lack of food or the cold. The black rings under her eyes indicated she hadn't slept in days, but her blue orbs were determined and hopeful. Cana didn't know how long she had been staring before Erza spoke.

"Juvia, you really should get some rest." The red head's voice sounded worried.

Juvia didn't take her eyes off Gray as she spoke. "His hand is so cold."

Erza looked lost for words, she had no idea how to cheer Juvia up. They weren't the best of friends, but she still cared. She knew nothing could make Juvia let go of Gray and she wasn't about to be the one who forced her, but sooner or later someone would have to.

Juvia didn't care who it was, no one could make her walk out of this room without Gray. He had been unconscious for two weeks now and she missed him terribly. She missed his smiles, his warm eyes and just him talking. Yes, he had sometime ignored her and her feelings, but she didn't care about that now. That was just how he was, unable to face his true feelings. If he had any feelings for her at all, which she didn't know. She just wanted him to wake up and say something to her.

A shiver ran through her and she tried shaking it off, but it continued, making her panic slightly. How many days had it been since she slept? She couldn't remember. When did she last eat something? She struggled to keep a hold on Gray's hand, which ironically enough, was cold as ice. Her eyes threatened to close and she was angry at her body for not doing as she told it to and just stay awake.

For a split second, she thought she felt his hand tighten in hers, but she was shaking to much to be sure if that small sensation, in fact was from Gray.

Cana shifted back and forth on her feet, unsure of what to do or say, but she did try to convince Juvia to eat something. A request she knew, surely would be rejected. Which it was and the room once again went back to it's slightly awkward silence. Cana inched closer to Erza and whispered to her.

"What are we gonna do about her? She's killing herself."

Erza looked at Cana for a weird second. "I suppose, if she doesn't eat within the hour, we'll be forced to sedate her."

"Yeah, but.. Doesn't that seem a little-"

"Thank god." Juvia cut her off, her hoarse voice portraying relief and happiness. Both Cana and Erza snapped their heads in her direction.

"Juvia was so worrie-" Juvia instantly fell asleep, her head landing on Gray's bedside, the teen of which was so obviously waking up.

The dark haired mage's eyes fluttered open and seemed out of focus for a while. After a couple of minutes his irises gained life and his stare met with Erza's worried, yet relieved features. He then swallowed a gathering amount of saliva and moved his eyes to Juvia by his side. Her hand was still in his, but he didn't seem to mind it right now. Either that, or he was just to tired to remove her.

"Hmmmm." Gray let out a voiced sigh, likely testing his vocal cords. When he was satisfied, he spoke. "What happened?"

_Now that, I wanna know too! _Cana thought to herself lively, as Gray touched his forehead, while slightly tightening his grip on Juvia's hand.

* * *

**_Yes I ended the first chapter with hand holding! Aw come on, it's cute xI_**

**_Now, you have a decision to make. Will you read further chapters or not? (Personally I think you should, but it's not my funeral- I mean regret that's gonna come out of it if you don't.)_**

**_Feel free to drop a review, or two, or three. Also, If you find some grammar and/or spelling mistakes, then screw it! Because of Fanfiction's new 'No copying' update (Which was about time) I can not copy my own chapter to change a few things. (Which is also why I haven't been able to edit the earlier chapters of Tears of Rain, without having to rewrite the whole thing)_**

**_I don't know when Chapter two is coming out, but keep your eyes, ears and mouth open for when it does. And have you heard?! Fairy Tail the anime is continuing in April! It's gonna be epic!_**

**_Oh well, I will leave you to your own thoughts now. Fare well on your path and remember to look both ways before crossing the street._**

**_Sigi-san signing out!_**


	2. His Last Name

**_Chapter 2! You're welcome ;)_**

**_I wanna thank you guys for the reviews, it made me so happy and complete inside :D_**

**_With that said, enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: Would I be writing fanfictions, if I owned the whole thing?_**

* * *

It took some time for the confused Gray to be fully aware of what was going on around him. He didn't register when Michael examined him, nor when Mirajane offered him food. He just sat there, impatiently awaiting to be able to talk to either Erza or someone who knew what the hell happened to him.

"Will you cut it out already! I'm fine!" He snapped at last and slapped Michael's hand away from his face.

"Well, at least we know he's energetic." Michael sighed with a smile, making Gray roll his eyes in annoyance.

The ice mage frowned at his guild mates, who by all means were ecstatic that he had awoken. His hand still resided in Juvia's, which owner was still fast asleep. Gray felt the need to wake her, so they could talk, but when he reached out to try, his hand was stopped by Erza.

"Don't, she needs it." Erza let his other hand go and looked down to the sleeping water mage. "She hasn't slept at all lately." She told him, which just served to confused him even more.

Why hadn't Juvia slept? And what did she mean lately, it was only a couple of days ago they came home, right?

Mirajane, who had entered the room rather fast when she heard of Gray's awakening - All with a plate of food -, quickly got tired of everyone's talking and sighing, so she hushed them all and almost shoved them out the door. The only ones remaining were Erza, the sleeping Juvia, Gray in his bed and Mira herself. Even Cana had been rushed out, much to her displeasure.

"So? Is someone gonna tell me what the hack is going on or not?!" Gray fussed and frowned deeply.

"Well Gray, what you gotta understand is that we've been really worried about you and is just thrilled you woke up, okay?" Mira tried calming him down, obviously to no avail as he just sighed heavily and looked to Erza, waiting for her to say something.

"It's been awhile since we came back." Erza stated, getting right to the point.

"Huh?" Gray raised an eyebrow at her, blaming her slightly for his confusion. "What are you saying?"

"Two weeks to be exact and you have been unconscious since then." She ignored his question and let her words sink in, as she shifted on her feet, still tired from her vicious training earlier that day.

"Wait wait wait, so you're telling me; we rescued Juvia two weeks ago and I've been unconscious since then?!" Gray's eyes were wild, as he threw his free hand through his hair. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm sorry Gray." Mira said, feeling the need to apologize.

"What happened then?! To Neel?! And-" Gray was freaking out until he quickly looked down to Juvia, which made him freeze in place, only now noticing how tired and frail she looked. "And what's wrong with Juvia?" He questioned calmly.

Erza looked to Mira, so did Gray.

"Well, since you've been down for so long, Juvia was really worried about you." Mira stated explaining. "She stayed up every night, just so she could be there if you finally decided to open your eyes."

"So she hasn't slept for two weeks?!" Gray sounded angry, but did not know at who.

"She did get her occasional five minutes or so, but basically no sleep at all really." Mira looked uncomfortable somehow, but swallowed the feeling raw. "That's not all though."

"There's more?!" Gray was furious, but still did not know who to direct his anger towards.

"Yes well, she hasn't exactly been eating much either." She quickly continued, dodging Gray's glare. "She told us; if you - Gray - didn't eat, then neither would she."

"Are you stupid?! Just force her then! How could you just let her starve herself?!" Gray didn't feel particularly proud of insulting Mirajane, but he was a little to angry to care right now, he would apologize later.

Neither Mira nor Erza had an answer for him, they just stood there watching Gray's angry, yet worried features.

"What about the others?! What happened after that?" Gray continued, not wanting to start a further argument.

As both Mira and Erza explained things to him, he became more or less angry. As he was told about Levi's recovering his frown lessened a little, but when he was told about Natsu's preference of the graveyard, it came right back full force. It all sounded like a story, a telling of someone else's life. A stranger who had nothing to do with him and his friends.

"And Juvia's leg?" He questioned them, remembering how bad in shape it had been.

"Almost fully healed, though Michael did say it would have gone faster if she had-" Mira got japped in the rips mid-sentence. Erza had stopped her from completing it, well knowing it would just rile Gray up yet again.

Not noting it, Gray let out a frustrated sigh and settled down in his bed once again, his hair messing out on the pillow. If only he had been awake. Juvia would have eaten and slept, Natsu and Lucy probably wouldn't be so obsessed with Leon's demise and he could have helped them all through it. Just like they in return, would help him through his none existing injuries. That was the weird part though, why had he been down for so long? The last he remembered was an agonizing pain in his head and then everything went black. That could have been equivalent to a blow to the head, from which you would normally awake a couple of days later, max. Yet he had been unconscious for two whole weeks, so what could have created that short term coma?

"We need to get her into a bed." Mira said to Erza, while eyeing Juvia's exhausted form.

"You're right." Erza responded and moved towards the water mage. With help from Mira, they both got the bluenette into a bed next to Gray's. Juvia looked pale and as worrying as that was, the two females was still more focused on the awakened ice mage.

Gray on the other hand, wasn't even looking at them. Having gotten up and into a sitting position once again, the dark haired teen was staring at his hand. It felt oddly cold after Juvia's touch had vanished. Gray usually welcomed the cold, liked it even, but now that same feeling had turned into one of loneliness and dread. Why did he feel like that? It was weird, really.

"Now, you have to eat this." Mirajane said, breaking Gray out of his thoughts. She was holding a bowl of suspiciously green, steamy soup. One which did not appeal to Gray's appetite what so ever. He knew however, that if he hadn't eaten decent food in two weeks, his body needed the necessities in the forest green substance. So he downed the bowl quickly, surprised by it's rich taste.

* * *

The wind flowed violently through his hair, messing up his bangs. It didn't face him even in the slightest, but it did however serve in making him stare harder at the stone in front of him. The sun baked down from above, making him slightly sweat from his pores, but not even that made him show any acknowledgement of the world around him. He had spent his time earlier walking back and fourth between this place and his other friend who needed his thoughts. Now he was stuck, like he had been so many times before, these past two weeks. Nothing changed, it was routine that drove him. Friends from the guild would spontaneously stop by once in a while, but they never stayed long. Probably do to his gloomy attitude. He wished to break free, to go back and live his life, but every single time he tried to leave, his conscience would make him feel like he was betraying them. They deserved better. He barely went home anymore, but he didn't see that as much of a big deal. His house was as messy as ever and he hadn't planned on cleaning it even if he wasn't stuck here wandering about. So it wasn't that.

His thoughts went to Lucy, who was probably crying her eyes out right that moment. It didn't sit well with him, having her suffering like that, but he had no comforting words to share, so he just left her alone for the time being. The fire mage heaved a deep sigh, where he for the fifth time that day, stepped forward and let his fingertips feel the rough stone in the ground. The touch made his jaw tighten and he felt like growling as a dog. His thumb brushed past one of the letters and reminded him how small a number there actually was. Four letters, that's all. That once again didn't seem fair.

The pink haired boy looked around on all the other gravestones. All of them home to various of loved ones, all of whom had their full name written on their tomb. Not the kid however.

It was strange. Natsu had only known the fifteen year old for a couple of days and yet, that had been enough to make him care for the boy as a friend. It was odd, how much his death affected the fire mage and how angry it made him. He didn't know who to blame, Signe? She had dealt the fatal blow and killed him. Leon? The kid had sacrificed himself, like it didn't matter. Or maybe himself? He had been the one who wasn't strong enough to protect his friend and now Leon was paying the price.

A twig snapped somewhere behind Natsu, but the fire mage had felt this presence so many times in his life, he knew who was standing there without even looking.

"So, here you are again Natsu."

The pink haired boy let his hand drop from Leon's headstone and turned to look at his visitor.

"Been spending an awful lot of time here lately, haven't we?" The man asked in a calm, yet caring tone. A warm breeze took hold of the trees around them and made the leaves whisper a wind-full song.

Natsu remained silent in his company, but turned to look at the kid's resting place once again. It had been hard to convince the church to let him be buried here. They believed; since he wasn't from this area, he should be buried in his own town, but since they would get the entire Fairy Tail guild on their case if they refused, they caved in and held a burial.

"Master, am I in the wrong?" Natsu suddenly asked the old man by his side.

Makarov looked up at his child and spoke wisely. "Both yes and no."

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked hastily, a little cross about not getting a clear answer.

"You are not wrong in sticking by your friend and respecting him, even in death. You are however wrong, when you neglect your living family of friends, who are worried about you and your well being." The master said.

Natsu sighed again. "I've tried to walk away."

"I know and I really didn't think I would've had to say this to you Natsu, but do you really think the kid would be happy seeing you torture yourself like this?" Makarov asked seriously.

"Probably not." Natsu commented and couldn't help but notice, how out of character he was being.

"So what is bothering you?" The old man asked, while scratching his bald spot.

"I didn't even know his last name." Natsu stated and fisted his hands. "I didn't know anything about him."

Makarov stayed silent.

"He didn't know me and yet.. He threw his life away to save me." Natsu entwined his hands together in fear of hitting something. He then spun around looking desperately at his master. "Why would he do that?! I don't understand."

"I think Leon considered you his friend." The master answered calmly despite Natsu's panicked voice.

"I was nothing but mean to him, so why..?" Natsu tailed off, not knowing how to complete his sentence.

"You don't have to understand, but you have to accept that he's gone." The old man advised and patted a comforting hand on Natsu's hip, not being tall enough to reach the teen's shoulder. "Be st-"

"Strong?" Natsu finished and shook his head. " I know, but I'm tired." He sighed.

"Then rest for now and come back even stronger." Makarov said firmly.

Natsu didn't answer, but the master knew he had sparked something in the young fire mage. He left it at that and cleared his throat.

"So, where's Lucy?"

"At her apartment." Natsu said.

"I think I'll pay her a visit too." Makarov smiled and started to exit the graveyard. "Come home soon, okay?!" He called over his shoulder and vanished as quickly as he had come.

Natsu's eyes were still focused on Leon's grave, but a small smile played on his lips, an action he hadn't done in weeks.

* * *

_Two days later._

Gray sighed, while slightly kicking the floor. He was having a hard time sitting still on one of the bar stools, so he had taken to standing against the counter instead. Mirajane eyed him nervously, fearing he might fall over anytime. Elfman, who had returned from his mission the day before, had been placed two chairs away from said ice mage, ready to catch him if he did so happen to faint. Gray had noticed this, but decided not to comment on it. However irritating it may be, he still owed Mira an apology for the other day and he wasn't about to add to his guilty conscience.

Natsu was sitting in a corner, whispering a conversation with Erza and Gray would be lying if he said, he wasn't slightly curious about what they were talking about. Lucy was doing physical therapy with Levy, who was slowly beginning to walk again, by moving in a circle around the guild hall. Every time they passed Gray's grumpy face, Levy made sure to give him a smile, attempting to cheer him up. It didn't work as well as it was supposed to, as the dark haired teen stayed as moody as when the day began.

He couldn't really explain his bad mood, all he knew was that he had woken up that day, been refused to visit Juvia, stalked by fellow guild mates - all convinced he would fall over by the smallest little task - and was bored out of his mind. Okay, so maybe he _could_ explain his sour attitude.

A loud crash made Gray snap his head in the direction of the sickbay. Gajeel had at that particular moment, kicked the door in and was roaring insults to everyone who got in his way. Mira was immediately starting towards the big teen, who never saw her coming.

"Gajeel- kun, get back in your bed right now!" The whitette ordered him firmly. "If you move around too much, you might make you injuries worse!"

"Screw that! I'm tired of laying around all day!" Gajeel sneered back at her.

Mira was having none of it and quickly took hold of Gajeel's arm, trying to force him back into the room of which he came. The girl was stronger then she looked, which made Gajeel fall backwards when she started pulling. The iron mage landed safely on his back, his eyes blinking as he was trying to figure out what just happened.

"Gajeel!" Levy called out, her voice portraying slight worry. She and Lucy was making their way towards the pair, when the front door got slammed open.

Gray's first thought was; why was it that no one could just enter the building normally? They all had to slam the giant front door open. His second thought, was that the guys who were entering the guild at this very moment, weren't looking for pleasantries.

"We do not wish to fight, bring fourth your master this instance!"

* * *

**_Hello again ^^_**

**_So, this chapter wasn't as long as the previous one, but just as good? right? That's for you to decide, I stand by my story no matter what :)_**

**_As I said in my last A/N, I'm super stoked for the continuation of Fairy Tail the anime, which is to air in April! Just for the ones who didn't know :D_**

**_I've gone in complete Fairy Tail mode to get this chapter out. I have all episodes on my computer, which I have been watching again and I have all the soundtracks as well, which I've been listening to while trying to write this. It worked though._**

**_I bought myself a ps3 (I don't really know why I'm telling you guys this, but someone has know)_**

**_I guess I'm done for now and I'll be back with chapter 3 as soon as possible._**

**_Reviews are always appreciated (and longed for), so drop one if you feel so inclined._**

**_Sigi-san has approved this message ;)_**


	3. The Tenshi Guard

_**Chapter 3 Ladies, gentlemen and others!**_

_**I have now once again overcome my writers block in a single night and wrote 3/4 of this chapter in the last two hours -.-**_

_**Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing, but when I think ahead in the story and picture all the things that need explaining and all the things I need happening, It just tires me out a bit. I don't know why I do it, but if I don't plan ahead, I might ruin this, so I'll have to live with it.**_

_**April is coming closer and closer and I'm super stoked xI**_

_**Well, that's all from me now and I hope you enjoy the chapter and drop a review if you feel so inclined.**_

_**Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this? Oh alright -.- I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters, all credit goes to their respectful owners. There! Happy?!**_

* * *

A cold chill of air rushed through the room before anyone reacted to what had just conspired.

The guy who had spoken was quite a big fellow. His brown hair was swept away from his face and back into a small ponytail. He had well maintained brown stubble on his sharp chin, while his cheekbones and face had a masculine form. He wore a thick sliver armour around his torso and dark pants to match. At his hip, hung a large sword, fitting for his knight in armour image. His brown eyes searched the room.

On his right side was quite a different man. Smaller then the two, he stood proudly. The man wasn't very tall, but much more muscular then the first. His black hair reached the top of his ears, while his bangs were almost none existent. Instead of armour, this man wore a dim green fabric shirt, but identical dark pants. Despite the outspoken man's foul mood, the shorter one was smiling and looking much like he was enjoying himself.

Behind the two men were a whole group of men, all dressed in horrible yellow suits, a color that did not suit any of them.

Surprisingly it was Mirajane who was the first to act. She had quickly rounded the counter, made her way past Gray and now stood her ground in front of the big leader figure.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, how may I help you?" She asked awfully polite, while smiling her most business-like smile.

"You could fetch your boss, that might be an idea." The smaller of the two strangers said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"There's no reason to be rude Taizou, the girl was trying to be helpful." The more broad looking man scolded his companion slightly.

Not noting the harm in Taizou's voice, Mirajane continued to smile. "May I ask what it is about?"

"Oh right, My Name is Tanarou Hanshin and I'm certain your master will be familiar with my status." The tall one stated rather confidently, while sending Mira going with just a look.

Multiple guild members complained internally, not appreciating how he treated Mirajane.

It didn't take long before Makarov stood in front of the strangers, oddly enough with a smile on his face.

"Tanarou old friend! It's been far too long!" The master exclaimed loudly, while having trouble shaking the man's hand do to his short height.

Tanarou smiled politely as well. "That we can agree upon."

"How's Keir?" Makarov asked, only few knowing who he was referring to.

"He's currently on a mission a little out west, but strong and healthy as always." Tanarou spoke, pride shining through his voice.

Several youngsters had made their way to the scene, Gray being one of them. Feeling a need to vent his anger of the day, he turned to Makarov. "Forgive me for asking master, but who the hell are these guys?"

"Forgive us for coming unannounced, but a situation has arised." Tanarou stated, looking at the master with serious eyes.

"Not at all, it must be serious if you risk coming here." Makarov said, all the while ignoring Gray's question.

"It has come to my attention that some of your young ones has recently been in contact with-" Tanarou started, but got interrupted by Makarov.

"Not here." He whispered and gently took hold of Tanarou's arm, leading him towards the sickbay. He discretely asked Natsu, Erza, Gray, Levy, Gajeel and Lucy to come along quietly. Taizou went along too, for whatever reason. The entire guild followed them with their eyes and Gray was sure that as soon as the door closed behind them, they all fought for a place at the other side, just to listen in.

"These here are the guild members of which I speak?" Tanarou looked around on all the teens' faces, his own features falling a little as he eyed their injuries.

"Indeed they are. Now, what is this situation you speak of?" Makarov's serious eyes were turned to the tall man.

Before Tanarou had a chance of opening his mouth, Gray had swiped past him, setting course for Juvia's resting area. He had a tying knot in his stomach and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He didn't exactly understand this strange feeling of uneasiness, but ignored it none the less as he reached Juvia's bed. She was still fast asleep, but some color had returned to her cheeks, which calmed Gray down immensely.

The others were looking at him, Natsu with a look of confusion, Makarov with one of understanding. Gray didn't care what they thought, which was strange considering all he had done in the past to make sure none of them thought there was anything at all going on between him and the water mage. Now they could think what they wanted, as long as he got to be there for her.

The realization shocked him greatly. Was that what he wanted? To be near Juvia? He had never thought that in the past. Granted him and Juvia hadn't known each other for that long, he still felt oddly protective of her. He had thought her to be annoying and clingy, but experiencing her being gone from his side was too horrible and painful. He had missed her on-comings and rambles in the three or so days she'd been with Neel. The thought of his doppelganger brought anger to his mind. What had he been doing to Juvia in those three days she had been in his custody? How had he made her forget all that's important to her?

"Ah, young love." Tanarou sighed, a small smile housing on his lips. His words brought Gray back to the situation at hand and made him think extra carefully about his previous thoughts.

"No I-" Gray made to deny his statement, but Tanarou held up his hand, successfully silencing the teenager.

"No need to explain, I get it." The broad man said, a shadow of grief washing over his eyes, but gone the next second, making Gray wonder if it had been his imagination.

The ice mage saw no point in arguing, so he let the subject go and looked at Makarov, prompting him to continue his earlier interrogation.

"Tanarou, I got the impression that you were in a hurry." The guild master said, feeling a little bad about rushing his old friend.

"You're right Makarov. As I said, I've heard about your recent incidents down south and I would have come sooner, but it took some time gathering all of my men." Tanarou said, the seriousness shining through again. "Judging from your children's injuries, I have now come to a conclusion. You mustn't engage in combat with this foe any further, you're in over your head this time, old friend."

Makarov seemed confused by Hanshin's words and spoke thereof. "You make no sense, are you warning me?"

"I must Makarov, you don't know what you're getting yourself or your guild members into." Tanarou's voice was deadly serious, enough to send a shiver down both Lucy and Levy's spine.

"What do you know?" The master's voice shifted into a suspicious tone.

"It's classified information, I'm sorry." Tanarou's words clearly angered Makarov, as his eyes shined dangerously.

"One of my children almost died in this clash, I deserve to know who committed this violent act against my guild." The master's voice was as deadly as Tanarou's had been just seconds before, which only served in making all the teens in the room shudder by the tone.

"Didn't you hear him, it's none of your business!" Taizou suddenly said, making all look at him as they had forgotten he was even in the room.

"Taizou-" Tanarou began, but got cut off.

"No Commander, I will not stand for this man being rude and suspicious of you!" Taizou stated and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Stand down, it's an order." The broad man said to his companion.

Taizou, being much unwilling in doing so, cursed under his breath and backed away. "As you wish."

"I'm sorry Makarov, but I really can't tell you this without proper authorization from the counsel." Tanarou continued.

"And I'm sorry for forcing your hand like this, but you owe me, remember?" Makarov was intent on getting his way no matter what, even if it meant calling on this favor now.

"Commander!" Taizou yelled, no longer able to hold his tongue.

"It's alright Taizou." Tanarou assured his second-in-command, not taking his eyes off Makarov. "He's right, I do."

"Very well, I assume you're familiar with a certain dark guild by the name of Codename?" Tanarou sighed, having given up on arguing with the guild master.

Makarov eyes widened in shock, but managed to frown at the same time. "Codename?! You cannot be serious!"

Gray's brain quickly went into overdrive. Who was Codename and why did the master seem so surprised by this name?

"I'm afraid so, we have been investigating them for a while now, but this is the first time they've taken direct action against a guild." Tanarou explained.

"Wait wait wait, so who are you guys again?" Natsu suddenly asked, his face portraying confusion.

"Right I forgot, Natsu, everyone, this is Commander Tanarou Hanshin of The Tenshi Guard, they're an undercover investigation group consisting of non-mages." Makarov announced.

"Almost non-mages, my son Keir was gifted with magical powers at a young age." Tanarou explained, the same pride flowing through his voice as he spoke of his child.

"The Tenshi Guard? Never heard of them." Gajeel stated, looking at Taizou with suspicion.

"The key word being 'undercover'." Taizou smirked back at Gajeel, who cussed under his breath.

"Back on topic, your group of teenagers here, unfortunately came in contact with a few of their members." Tanarou said, eyeing Taizou a glare.

"But they would never let their members roam free, I even heard their master call his members by numbers." Makarov stated, clearly against the whole idea.

Tanarou cleared his throat, making Gajeel and Taizou stop glaring at each other. "Subject 101 was clearly acting on orders."

"Subject 101?" Erza voiced her confusion.

"Oh right, I believe he otherwise goes by the name Neel." Tanarou explained.

Gray sprung to his feet after having kneeled by Juvia's bedside, his head swirling by the mention of that name. "Neel?! He was apart of this dark guild?!" He asked ferociously.

"Wait, how do you know what number he goes by?" Erza asked, still lost.

"I'll get to that. Subject 101 had a strange power, so did all of his companions and we've been trying to figure out how they came in possession of those powers, since they were clearly not magical." Tanarou continued. "It was said that Subject 101's particular power held a strong force over memories and he could manipulate them to his will, making even the best of friends, deadly enemies."

It clicked in gray's mind, so that's how he did it. Neel turned Juvia against him by tampering with her memories of him, making her hate him enough to kill him.

"Through a very detailed investigation, we've deducted that Codename is a very scientific guild." Tanarou stated.

"Scientific?" Lucy asked, her voice small in their company.

"Indeed, a high ranking member of Codename has been tasked with scientifically inducing supernatural powers in ordinary kids and raising them to believe in their cause. Sometimes of course, adults are taken in as well."

Some shifted on their feet in anger. "Kidnapping kids, really?" Natsu sneered.

"Calls himself Creator, a bit arrogant of him really." Taizou said, his smirk coming back full force.

"We believe that Subject 101 used his power on his fellow guild members, making them think that _he _was the one who granted them their powers and that he was some sort of god." The brown haired man explained.

"But how does this 'Creator' create these powers in children?" Makarov asked.

Tanarou's eyes landed on the master yet again. "That, we do not know."

"Okay, and how do you know all this?" Gray asked, his tone displaying anger, though not _at_ anyone.

"Taizou here," Tanarou held his hand out towards his subordinate, who clearly liked the attention. "Has infiltrated the enemy ranks and gotten himself quite a high role."

"This idiot's a spy?" Gajeel let slip out and judging by his facial expression, that thought had been one he wanted to have kept to himself. Taizou responded to his insult with a death glare, not far from jumping the big teen.

"Within Codename, he goes by Subject 201 and has been feeding us intel for about three years already." Tanarou explained.

"Three years?!" Levy burst out, admiration clear in her tone.

"And counting." Taizou smirked, letting his fingernails brush against his chest arrogantly.

"But why? Why would anyone want to do that?" Erza asked.

"Once again, we come up empty. Even with Taizou in a high position, the master has not told him of his plans, which leads us to wonder why they bothered to pick a fight with you guys." Tanarou answered with a thoughtful look on his face.

"That does seem rather odd." Makarov voiced his thoughts.

"Maybe it was just because Neel knew Juvia personally?" Gray suggested.

"I can't see the master of Codename giving a mere foot soldier free rein because of a personal vendetta, no it must have been something beneficial to him." Tanarou shot down the idea.

A muffled sound rang in the sudden silence of the thoughtful group. Gray snapped his head around, quite possibly injuring his neck in the process, only to see an awakening Juvia in her bed. He quickly rushed to her side once more, unconsciously taking a hold of her hand.

"Gray-sama? Everyone? What's going on?" Her tired voice asked, as all eyes in the room was on her at that moment.

"Don't worry, we were just discussing theories." Gray answered her in a gentle voice, one quite out of character for him.

"Juvia doesn't know these people." She stated, her eyes locked on Tanarou and Taizou.

"I know, but they're here visiting the master." Gray explained calmly, unknowingly to himself, entwining his fingers with hers.

"Let's give them some time alone." Makarov suggested. "We'll continue this in my office."

Gray didn't even notice them leaving, nor did he see Lucy's knowing smile and Gajeel's discrete thumbs up to Juvia. He just smiled and unfortunately got hopefully lost in her deep blue eyes.

Once again he got confused by the feelings rushing up inside him. He had never really felt this way before and when his heartbeat sped up he knew there was no way back. What did he want to do? The protective thoughts circled around in his already full brain. He was well aware that Juvia could take care of herself, she was quite strong on her own and didn't need his protection or monopoly, but he could feel them on the inside of his rip cage, fighting to get out. What would happen if he let them out? Would she be happy or annoyed with him? Why did he feel like this anyway? Never before had he had these feelings and thoughts for Juvia and had found her quite annoying in the past. When had she worked herself under his skin? When had he started to actually like her romantically aggressive attacks?

While this was running through his head, his free hand had traveled to her face, where he brushed a lock of blue hair out of her eyes. A gentle touch, one that made his stomach flip a turn. Her blue orbs were looking at him in confusion, but they held none of the anger he had witnessed two weeks ago. They looked at him with such beauty, he had to avoid her stare, lest he would do something probably immoral. Without noticing, he had leaned down closer to her face, his upper body floating above her's, as she was still fully laying down, only her covers separating them. A small blush formed on her cheekbones when she noticed this fact. His feet were still on the floor, as he sat on the edge of her bed, his body twisted at the hip.

For the second time in his life, Gray felt Juvia's breath on his lips, being only inches apart from making that everlasting connection. Was this it? Did he really want to do this? His mind screamed yes, but his judgement was shaky on the matter. She had closed her eyes, revealing her long lashes and Gray felt an odd need to touch them. He refrained from doing so, but his free hand balled itself into a fist beside her head, as his elbow was the only thing keeping him from falling on top of her. He sighed, as he carefully searched through his brain for reasons not to do it. His thumb caressed her fingers in his hand, an action he was doing unconsciously.

When he came up empty in his search, he sighed once more. He had no reason not to, so what the hack. He started to lean in further, when he got interrupted by an unexpected pain. His forehead was burning in agonizing pain, just as it had been two weeks ago. He tore himself away from Juvia and fell to the floor, where he screamed out in pain. His right elbow complained by the fall, but the pain in his forehead preoccupied his attention so much, he didn't even notice. Juvia had gotten on her feet, flinching a little from the pain in her leg, but she dropped by Gray's side anyway.

"Gray-sama?! What's the matter?!" She screamed too, just to overdo his painful cry. Seeing him in such agony quickly brought tears to her eyes and she proceeded with calling for help, but oddly enough, none came. The reason for this was that, unknown to both of them, Erza had collapsed with the same problem and was also screaming out in pain in the next room.


	4. I Think You Forget

It was always quiet until it wasn't. Always peaceful until it wasn't. The doctor knew it was coming without even looking to his side. He knew that now he was in for a wave of irritation and quite possibly pain. Why had he agreed to work here again? Sure enough, only a second after that very thought crossed his mind, the door far to the right of him, was kicked in with such force, the metal object simple gave up and hung loosely from it's hinges.

"Can't you enter a door normally?" The man calling himself Creator sighed his question. "You literally leave a trail of broken doors behind you."

"So, this is what's become of you." Mahan mocked, his face split by a menacing grin as he ignored the man's comment. The light of his hair rustling as he walked by an air puffing vent in the wall at his side, he neared the doctor. The dark blonde's company tore his eyes from the water tank he had been so infatuated with and locked them on the nearing subject.

"What are you talking about, Subject 202?" Nerov countered, his voice displaying the same venom. Both the men resided in Nerov's lab at that very moment, one scorn over his boredom, the other mesmerized by the younger boy floating around inside the liquid filled capsule hanging from the wall.

"Why do you spend your days rotting away in here? Is it because of 101?" The thought seemed to amuse Mahan even more, as the red head's face twisted into an expression of disgust.

"It has nothing to do with Neel!" Nerov sneered, unable to control his tone of voice.

"Neel? Since when do you refer us by first name?" Mahan asked, his smirk remaining, yet his eyes portraying confusion.

Nerov knew he had revealed more than he was comfortable with, which is why he turned away from Subject 202 and continued watching the clearly defeated teen within the tanker. Neel's foot had been unsalvageable and he would most likely not walk normally again. It pained Nerov slightly, thoughts of how he could have done more, how he could maybe have saved his foot if he just.. He didn't know why he felt that way particularly, it was the first time he had gotten this close to a test subject.

"Oh I get it, it's because of your son, isn't it?" Mahan teased again, making Nerov flinch.

"W-What are you-!" Nerov started, but got cut off.

"Yeah, 101 was the only one who got to learn of your real name!" 202 continued, enjoying the doctor's reactions. "What, you wanted to feel like a father once more?"

"Stop.." It was barely a whisper.

"You regret what happened with your son, don't you?" Mahan laughed, having found a source of amusement.

"How you do you know?!" The doctor was slightly panicking. That was supposed to be his secret and his alone. He had tried very hard to get over it and succeeding in forgetting it a little bit, but having Mahan tear the wounds up again, made all the horrible memories come flooding back.

"The master was in a very talkative mood this morning, so I simply asked about my so mysterious 'Creator'" Mahan explained, enjoying the ravishing feeling of tormenting the doctor.

"You had no right!" Nerov yelled, anger washing up inside him. "I gave you your powers and I can just as easily take them away!" This statement seemed to rile Mahan, he had no intentions of giving up his powers.

"You seem to have forgotten dear 'Creator', that I'm the one with the powers and you're weak, so I'd advise you to not pick a fight with me." Mahan spoke as controlled as he could manage.

They were at each other's throats almost immediately after and only succeeded in glaring at the other before the abused door got slightly pushed aside. A very nervous looking man stood in the door's frame, watching the horrors play out. Neither Mahan nor Nerov seemed willing to back away, but having an audience to their little squabble didn't seem like a preferable option either, so they both sighed in defeat and backed off.

"You have business here?" Creator asked the newcomer, who stuttered and trembled at the very thought of speaking. On a closer look, Nerov noticed that the man was merely a teenager at best and the boy seemed to be a foot soldier. The kid's brown hair was giving off a red-ish shine, possibly from the hallway lights. Nerov knew this boy hadn't passed as a test subject, as he was either to weak for the procedure or simply already a mage to begin with. Either way, he resided at the bottom of Codename's social food chain and wasn't even in anybody's interest.

"T-The ma-master wants to s-see you." He spoke with a weak voice, unable to bring any power into his statement do to his fear. Nerov wondered for a slight moment why the boy seemed so afraid.

"Very well, come with me." Nerov said quickly, watching as the fright on the teen's face became more imminent.

"I have no idea why the boss favors you so much." Subject 202 let slip and bumped into the doctor's shoulder as he passed by. The dirty blond disappeared through the broken door, passing the shaking boy, who in the process stumbled backwards and out of his way.

"Are you coming?" The doctor asked the boy as he had made his way to the bruised door, sending a death glare at Mahan's retreating back.

"Y-Yes Sir." The kid stuttered and skipped to Nerov's heels, making sure not to walk beside the doctor like an equal. A clear sign of inferiority. Poor kid, he had probably been brainwashed for life.

It didn't take them awfully long to reach the master's chamber and the boy's fear only grew with each step. Nerov knew how the teen felt, he himself felt intimidated by the master's very presence and he held quite a high position. He could only imagine how a low ranking kid would feel at the moment.

"Master Vandettos, you summoned me?" The doctor once again spoke to the massive iron door, where it opened only seconds later. Nerov gave the boy a sign to follow as he stepped inside. The room looked the same as always, the same giant fish tanker at the north wall, the same throne-like chair in the middle of the room, the same ominous feeling radiating from the man standing by the tanker, his hands joined on his back.

"Ah Nerov, nice of you to join me." Vandettos spoke, his voice oddly amused. The master seemed ignorant of the teen's presence in the room and therefore did not spare him a look as he turned around to look at his subordinate.

"Always Sir, you wish something of me?" Nerov bowed slightly, his voice humble. The boy followed suit and bowed too, though much deeper then the doctor.

"Yes yes, I've thought about our situation and I think it's time to set phase one into action." Vandettos said, a smile plastered on his face.

Nerov seemed disturbed by this news and immediately began voicing reasons against such an action. "But sir, we're not ready! We've barely marked any of our targets and we wouldn't have even slightly enough energy as we need to-" The doctor quickly got cut off.

"I think now is a perfect time to run a test on our brand new weapon, don't you think so?" The master was still smiling, but his voice portrayed a clear dislike of the defiance.

"But Master-!"

"Do I detect my orders being ignored by my most trusted comrade, how sad, I wish it wasn't so." Vandettos faked a depressed sigh and held a hand to his heart. "Whatever shall I do, now I must continue on my own!"

"No Master, I simply meant-!" Cut off again, Nerov held his tongue.

"I know what you meant dear Nerov, I simply don't care much about your opinion on the matter, are we clear?" He spoke with the amused tone once again.

"I.. Yes Sir." The doctor gave up on arguing with the master as it would most likely get him into trouble.

"I think you forget who saved you from your misery back in the day. I also think you forget that you're indebted to me, am I right?" Vandettos asked, well aware that Nerov flinched at his words. The doctor was clearly angry, at least enough for him to lose his temper and speak up.

"And you go and tell that to everybody, don't you?! Subject 202 clearly finds my pain rather amusing, you do too don't you? I have told you countless times that I don't want to talk about my past, but you apparently think that trampling all over my memories and feelings is more important than our actual purpose! Damn you!" Nerov realized his mistake seconds after his outburst, so he quickly bowed and spoke again calmly. "Forgive me Master, I did not mean it."

The boy at the doctor's side stared mortified between the two men, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Oh I think you did and I'm not a forgiving man." The master's voice was deadly and it hit Nerov as lightning, quick and painful. "But, on the other hand, I still need you."

Nerov visibly relaxed in his bowing stance. The thought of the master still needing him was a comforting one. As long as he was needed, he wouldn't be killed.

"You do seem to have forgotten something though." Those simple words got Nerov's heart jumping to his throat and he looked up at his master.

"Yes master?" Nerov was both curious and afraid at once, what came next definitely wouldn't be good.

"I hold enough power to kill you in an instance and don't think I won't just because you're needed, I'll find another way to achieve my goal if it should come to that." Vandettos was amused again, seeing the fear in Nerov's eyes gave him a thrill he only felt when he was about to kill someone.

Nerov didn't answer, but his head fell down into his bowing stance once again.

"I can make every object in this room into a weapon that'll attack you at my command." The master stated and as soon as the words had escaped his lips, Nerov heard a muffled scream at his side. The red head spun around, only for his eyes to land on the boy who was being mercilessly held and beaten by metal snakes. The iron grid underneath his feet had come to life and bound itself around his head, over his mouth, successfully half-muting the kid. The helpless teen cried out in pain as yet another hit came to his abdomen, making his torso bend oddly inwards.

Nerov was mortified by what he was witnessing and it clicked in his brain, that the master was most likely behind this cruel attack.

"I can make the air turn poisonous and watch you die slow and painfully." The master's voice rung somewhere behind the doctor, who's eyes widened when the clear oxygen around the boy turned a venomous purple. The metal snakes released the boy, who fell to the ground and landed on his knees. He immediately began coughing and placed both his hands on his throat gasping for clean air, none came to him. Tears had begun flowing from the boy's eyes, as he drooled on the floor do to his wide open mouth. It was clear torture, yet Nerov didn't dare speak, well knowing he himself could be next. He did however clench his eyes shut, turning his head away from the scene. The sound of the boy's breathless cries would probably haunt him forever.

"And," The master's confident voice chimed. The purple smoke vanished, giving the boy some much needed air. The kid got on his knees again, having found new strength from the newly obtained oxygen. His brown eyes showed pure fear, as he turned to look the the master. He lifted his hand in surrender, while the tears still flooded from his wide eyes. Nerov was surprised when the boy spoke, "Please.. Please don't." It came out as a sob as his shaking hands was still being hold up in defeat. The words were clearly directed at the master, as Nerov was quite sure the kid didn't even notice him in the room anymore.

"I can make every and any organ in your body attack itself the most brutal way possible." The master finished and his voice dripped with finality.

A sickening splatting sound came from the boy's body and he immediately spit up blood in his mouth. Within seconds the teen's eyes had turned dim and he fell lifeless to the ground, his corps flattening out on his stomach.

Nerov felt sick. He had just witnessed something he would never forget. He kept silent as Vandettos' foot steps drew near.

"I trust we've come to an understanding, am I right?" Nerov knew the master was at least a few feet from him, but his voice sounded right in his ear, deadly as ever. Nerov didn't trust the stability of his voice, so he proceeded with nodding.

"Activate M.O.D. immediately." The master's voice held none of his previous amusement, therefore his order was absolute.

"Y-Yes Master." The doctor's voice sounded weak, but he didn't mind at the moment. He made for the door, set on getting away from the monster in the room, a monster who's black spiky hair seemed just too sharp, who's dark eye's seemed to glow red at that moment.

"Oh and," Nerov froze when the man spoke again. The master looked down at the boy's body with disgust. "Clean this up."

* * *

_**Hey, what's up?**_

_**I know, It was shorter this time and I'm sorry, but I too had other plans for this chapter. It just didn't seem right to hold anything back from you. I had this chapter ready for uploading and I didn't wanna keep it from you guys, since you do so much waiting on my account. If you are disappointed, I completely understand.**_

_**You'll have to wait and see what happens at fairy tail a little longer, I'm writing in full speed at the moment :)**_

_**Don't you guys think it's gonna be an awesome anime year? :D So much stuff that needs watching this year!**_

_**Oh well, I had my dark and gloomy mood on in this chapter, as most of you will notice :)**_

_**Please leave a review, I long for your thoughts!**_

_**See ya next chapter! **_

_**Sigi-san out!**_


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